How To Setup VPN On DD-WRT Router

While a lot of people prefer using a VPN client, many users like to have VPN configurations done on their routers. Setting up DD-WRT router is a wise option for many reasons. First of all, by setting up DD-WRT router you save a lot of time that you would have to spend on setting up VPN connection on each of your internet-enabled device.

Second off, you don’t have to install anything on your devices, which saves data space and system resources on each device. Last but not the least, you can easily let your guests share your VPN connection via WiFi each time they visit you without configuring their devices. Now that you know the benefits of setting up VPN via DD-WRT settings, it’s time to configure it and get going:

Step-By-Step Process

Step 1: Make sure your router is DD-WRT compatible. If it is not compatible, get a new DD-WRT compatible router.

Step 2: Be sure to have an Ethernet cable and an active VPN subscription.

Step 4: Hold the reset button on your router without letting go so that you can apply a 30/30/30 reset. Now unplug the power cable for 30 seconds while still pushing the reset button and then plug the power back in and hold the button for 30 more seconds.

Step 5: Use your Ethernet cable and connect your router to the computer.

Step 6: Launch your browser and navigate to the default router IP, which is usually 192.168.1.1 or something similar.

Step 7: Now go to the Firmware Upgrade section under System Tools and the file you downloaded. Hit upgrade and wait for the router to restart.

Step 8: Repeat step number 4.

Step 9: Upon logging in to your router (username: Admin, password: admin) you will see a greeting and your wireless connections will appear as DD-WRT. Initially the connection will be unprotected.

Step 10: Now you can change all the basic settings i.e. name and security under the Wireless tab.

Now that you have set up DD-WRT, let’s configure VPN on your router:

How to Setup VPN on DD-WRT

The following is a built-in/GUI method for setting up VPN connection. For the reason that most of the VPN services provide with configuration files, we are only about to tell how to set up OpenVPN.

Step 1: After logging in to DD-WRT, navigate to Services> VPN and then enable the ‘Start OpenVPN Client’.

Step 2: Open the chosen .ovpn file in a text editor of your choice (Notepad etc.)

Step 3: Enter the required info in the OpenVPN client as explained below. Remember that the below image is only for your reference and may vary depending on the provider.

Step 4: Now copy the following texts from the .ovpn file;

from the line that follows the pattern remote location.provider.com xxxx the web address goes into the ‘Server IP/Name’ field and xxxx is the ‘Port’ field below it

The text between <key> and </key> tags into the ‘Private Client Key’ field

The text between <tls-auth> and </tlsauth> tags into the ‘TLS Auth Key’ field

The text between <cert> and </cert> tags into the ‘Public Client Cert’ field

The text between <ca> and </ca> tags into the ‘CA Cert’ field

Step 5: Hit ‘Save’ and then ‘Apply Settings’ to start the VPN service

Step 6: To ensure that the service is running smoothly, navigate to Status> OpenVPN. The log should contain all messages about encryption and management. In case it is blank, you should check all the settings because you might have done something wrong.

So here you have it, the configuration process of DD-WRT installation on your router and the setup of VPN. As soon as you are done following all the aforementioned steps, you become secure, anonymous and unrestricted on the internet.